Gloucester Div Three

Tetbury 25

Aretians 34

FOUR second-half tries threatened to pull off a stunning comeback victory for third-placed Tetbury against second-placed Aretians in this Gloucester Three clash.

But Aretians, with promotion all but guaranteed before the game, had the last say, scoring close to the end to take the game 34-25.

Any thoughts that this was a dead rubber were quickly removed as Aretians started the better of the two sides, scoring three tries in the opening 20 minutes to just a single Tetbury penalty.

With the slope and wind in their favour, Aretians continued to press the Tetbury line as the home side lost several key players to injury. Aretians led 24-6 at the break.

After a reshuffle and with the benefit of the favourable conditions, Tetbury showed fantastic resolve to hit back in the second half and their four second-half tries took the score to 29-25 in favour of the travelling team.

With Tetbury looking to snatch an unbelievable comeback win, Aretians scotched all chance of that with a late try. Tetbury coach Stephen Knight said: "Each player made the club proud today with the resolve shown and the way they refused to roll over.

"A loss is always tough to take no matter what the circumstances but credit must go to each player this season as they have matured and grown as a team which is all their own doing."